The 2018 season kicked off with the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Open in Hastings on Sunday 4th March. Running season long, the BMGA SHIELD (formerly know as the Season Only Rankings) were first introduced in 2009 with the aim of giving all players a more immediate and season specific breakdown of where they stand in relation to all the players that participate in tournaments each year. The SHIELD does not replace the Official Rankings (which are still the ultimate benchmark for players) but run in tandem with the official rankings.

The SHIELD will have to prizes for the overall leader and category leaders at the season end. Category 1 players are not eligible for the SHIELD and all eligible players for the BMGA Shield prize remain in the category in which they started the season but their multiplier will change if they move in the OOM. For example, a player who starts the season in Category 2 remains eligible for the Category 2 prize if they move into Category 1 during the season but the Category 1 multiplier will apply to their points from then on.

The focus is to reward players for their results across the year, with particular emphasis on Personal Best performances, improvements round to round within any given tournament along with specific points for aces. The breakdown of how the rankings are made up are listed below: